A probabilistic approach to inference with limited information in sensor networks

We present a methodology for a sensor network to answer queries with limited and stochastic information using probabilistic techniques. This capability is useful in that it allows sensor networks to answer queries effectively even when present information is partially corrupt and when more information is unavailable or too costly to obtain. We use a Bayesian network to model the sensor network and Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling to perform approximate inference. We demonstrate our technique on the specific problem of determining whether a friendly agent is surrounded by enemy agents and present simulation results for it.